07/22, 4:55pm

Arty iPod covers

Arty is a new service that allows users to design their own customized iPod cover. "iPods are personal and I liked the idea of a cover being personal, almost like a tattoo that you're not going to swap, in the same way that I wouldn't swap my iPod," said Wrappers owner Freddie Procter. Launched by the Oxford based company Wrappers, Arty makes it possible to have your favourite picture reproduced as a cover. Prices for covers are quoted individually and start from £32.00 incl P&P worldwide. "The very high density stitching used to reproduce pictures creates a tapestry panel with similar, long lasting qualities to upholstery fabric. The strong but soft finish provides plenty of protection but not at the expense of making gadgets bulky. Arty covers are some of the slimmest cases on the market, adding only a few millimetres to the size of the gadget. "

07/22, 4:55pm

Pacific Rim ships iDiddy

Pacific Rim today announced that the iDiddy -- a wearable, leather case and integrated earbud combination that eliminates tangled wires -- has begun shipping. The first in a family of products, the iDiddy provides the user with enhanced quality earbuds and a hand sewn designer styled leather case brought together in a single unit. "No more loose wires, no more wishing for a third hand. iDiddy gives you freedom to walk, run, or lounge. Because it's wearable, you can keep it conveniently under a shirt, jacket or sweater if you don't want prying eyes to see it. iDiddy lets you enjoy your iPod more."

07/22, 3:45pm

Akoustik Piano

Native Instruments has announce the Akoustik Piano, a new sample-based software instrument that "brings four classic pianos to life with unprecedented authenticity, flexibility and ease of use." Akoustik Piano "recreates each nuance and detail of the original instruments by combining elaborate multi-sampling with sophisticated emulation of soundboard resonance and pedal behavior." The suite includes three famous Grand pianos that have been at the heart of countless classical concerts and recordings for many decades - the powerful and dynamic Boesendorfer 290 Imperial, the crystal-clear and versatile Steinway D, and the gentle Bechstein D 280 with its subtle harmonic overtones. Akoustik Piano will be available in September for $350.

07/22, 3:40pm

Ableton ships Live 5

Ableton today offered the first public showing of Live 5 at the 2005 Summer NAMM in Indianapolis, IN. Live 5, which is now shipping, offers several new features and enhancements fo creation, production and performance, including new sound-shaping and organizational tools, "Clip Freeze" for freeing up CPU power and easing the transfer of projects between computers, automatic plug-In delay compensation, new Launchable Arrangement Locators for arrangement/song-position markers with MIDI mapping and quantized recall, and Mackie Control with support for Tascam's FW-1082/1884, Yamaha's 01X and Mackie Control. Live 5 is available now for $500 with upgrades priced at $120 (electonic) or $150 (boxed).

07/22, 12:50pm

DragThing beta

TLA Systems has announced an early public beta release of DragThing for Intel-based Macs. It is available to download now. This pre-release version is only of interest to developers and other users who have access to the Developer Transition Kit hardware. "We hope that it is a clear statement to existing and potential DragThing users that we will be ready to support new Apple's new Intel machines on day one [...] At this stage we are actively seeking beta testers with Intel machines to help us. Anyone who is interested and has the necessary hardware, please send an email to intel at dragthing.com."

07/22, 11:20am

iBook ship times

In brief: Several readers note that iBooks and Mac minis now show shipping estimates of 5-7 business days at the online Apple Store (a sudden extension of shipping estimates sometimes indicates an imminent update).... The Macintosh Astronomy Workshop (MAW) and Imaginova have announced Jeremy Macon and Shae Trumpy as the winners of the Macintosh Astronomy Workshop Student Essay Competition.... Apple's emergence as a leader in podcasting may bring it more public scrutiny, as one report notes the availability of several "adult-oriented" podcasts on iTunes.... Griffin Technology yesterday announced its Chameleon case for the iPod mini.

07/22, 10:30am

Babya Logic Pro

Babya Software Group today unveiled Babya Logic and Babya Logic Pro, compatible with Apple Logic Pro 7 and Logic Express 7. Babya Logic 2006 is an audio production suite that includes Babya bMix, a 8-track music creation application-that enables you create music that "sounds like Abba or Michael Jackson's music style." It also includes Babya Jam Pack: Studio Tools, Babya MicroKit and UltraSynth. Babya Software Group's product manager for digital media, Alvin Novick said: "Babya Logic is a suite of audio production software that includes Jam Pack 1 which provides six impressive ways to make or edit audio, plus Babya bMix and a powerful riff and percussion generator." Babya Logic and Logic Pro 2006 will be available in late August.

07/22, 10:05am

Apple brand value up

Apple this year has increased its brand value, according to a new BusinessWeekBrand Equity special report. A new report of companies with values greater than $1 billion found that Apple moved up two spots to No. 41 by increasing its brand value by 16 percent to nearly $8 billion. "Apple returns as one of the top five climbers with its 16 percent growth following last year's 24 percent growth, due to its lower price point products (iPod shuffle and Mac mini) and the success of iTunes," according to Macworld UK. Coca-Cola was No. 1 again in the ranking with a brand value of $67.5 billion.

07/22, 10:00am

Adult podcasts on iTunes

Apple's emergence as a leader in podcasting may bring it more public scrutiny, as one report notes the availability of several "adult-oriented" podcasts on iTunes. Analysts say that the acceptance of amateur podcasts has inherent risks, and while users can let the company know if they object to certain content (as the company provides no specific guidelines), Apple says it tries to review as many submissions as it can for "really obvious" adult content, according to the Wall Street Journal report. "As podcasting reaches a more mainstream audience, the more risque audio shows -- and Apple's role in distributing them -- could come under greater scrutiny. Apple declined to say whether any of its users have complained about the adult podcasts, which can be downloaded by anyone regardless of age. The company said it could potentially pull programs that it deems too explicit, but declined to say whether it has done so yet."

07/22, 9:45am

Ikivo Animator 1.1

Ikivo AB, a provider of Mobile SVG tools, today announced that Ikivo Animator 1.1 is now shipping. The latest version of the mobile content authoring solution now includes a numerous new features including opacity and gradient support and extensive preview profiles. Ikivo Animator is a Mobile SVG software application for producing high-quality SVG Tiny animations. Designed to work with Adobe Creative Suite, Ikivo Animator integrates with Adobe Illustrator CS and Adobe GoLive CS to help designers and developers rapidly design, animate, test, and deploy rich Mobile SVG content to mass-market devices. Ikivo Animator enables designers to move, scale, rotate, and change the attributes of SVG Tiny content over time, as well as to embed interactivity. It is available for $350.

07/22, 9:35am

BW ranks innovative cos

Apple ranks No. 1 as the most innovative company in the world in BusinessWeek's latest special report. The "Get Creative!" survey polled nearly 1000 senior executives--nearly 25 percent of whom ranked Apple as the most innovative, more than double the next highest rank company. 3M was ranked No. 2 with nearly 12 percent of the votes. Microsoft, GE, Sony, Dell, IBM, Google, P&G, and Nokia round out the top 10, respectively. "CEO Steve Jobs has turned Apple into the paragon of the creative corporation, and with the evolution of the economy toward creativity underway, companies throughout the world are deconstructing Apple's success in design and innovation," according to the report. BusinessWeek's special report, "Get Creative!," is featured in the August 1st issue, on newsstands July 25th and will soon be available on the website.

07/22, 1:35am

Edirol supports Tiger

Edirol has launched previewed the world's first professional Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) multi-channel audio device for Mac OS X Tiger. The company previewed its UA-1000 and UA-101 USB 2.0 Audio Interfaces with new support for Mac OS X Tiger. "Edirol pioneered USB 2.0 audio interfaces with the UA-1000 in March of 2003 and is now the first company to support multi-channel Hi-Speed USB audio on both Windows XP and Mac OS X Tiger. Edirol was also the first company to fully support and implement class-compliant FireWire Core Audio drivers for Mac OS X Panther when it introduced the FA-101 in January 2004." A preview beta version of the driver for Mac OS X Tiger is currently available; the official driver release is expected fall of 2005. [driver not yet available]